The consequences of diseases involving the immune system such as
AIDS, and chronic inflammatory diseases such as bronchial asthma,
rheumatoid arthritis, and atherosclerosis, now account for a
considerable economic burden to governments worldwide. In response
to this there has been an enormous research effort investigating
the basic mechanisms underlying such diseases, and a tremendous
drive to identify novel therapeutic applications for their
prevention and treatment. Though a plethora of immunological
studies have been published in recent years, little has been
written about the implications of such research for drug
development. As a consquence, this area has not gained the
prominence of other new fields such as molecular pharmacology or
neuropharmacology, and focal information source for the many
pharmacologists interested in diseases of the immune system remains
unpublished.